God Called in Sick Today
by Oldach's Dream
Summary: There was a shooting at Tree Hill High that day. Yet, ironically enough, the bus that was bringing the basketball players home got stuck in traffic. Lucas and Nathan never made it there. Oneshot.


Author: Oldach's Dream

Summary: There was a shooting at Tree Hill High that day. Yet, ironically enough, the bus that was bringing the basketball players home got stuck in traffic. Lucas and Nathan never made it there. Oneshot.

Disclaimer: Not mine

God Called in Sick Today

"Coach?" The tentive word came from Lucas Scott and Whitey Durham knew already that today would probably be the longest day of any of their lives. God knows it was already becoming one of his longest.

"What's going on?" This question came from Nathan Scott, who was standing not far behind his big brother. There was more irritation in his voice, more impatience. He hadn't yet realized, as Lucas had, that something had gone terribly wrong. "This isn't the way back to the school."

"Coach?" The front of the bus was getting crowded now, with all his kids gathering around his seat. Whitey was just glad they were almost there. Numbly he realized he was still holding his cell phone. His emergencies-only cell phone that the school had forced him to get _just incase. _He never really expected there to be a _just incase. _God, how he had been wrong.

He shut the phone silently and looked up at the Scott brothers and all the other players.

"Something happened at the school today, boys," he tried to speak with level confidence, but he wasn't sure how well he'd pull that off. "We can't go back there right now. We're headed to the Rec center downtown. Your parents will pick you up from there."

That information, of course, wasn't really enough to appease any of them. Lucas had panic in his eyes and Nathan wore anger like a mask. They were complete opposites, Whitey thought absently, but they worked well together, playing off each other almost like dancers. One moving in while the other moved away, one stepping up while the other planned. They were gold on the court, unpolished silver in the real world.

"Couch! What's going on?" Nathan's anger stepped forward while Lucas' fear hung back and planned.

He knew there was no way the truth wouldn't get to them. This truth was like a tornado, wrecking everything within miles of its path.

He'd never done anything to prepare them for this.

"Someone brought a gun to the school this morning," Whitey's words were greeted with gasps of shock and wide eyes from most. Yet, different as they were, the Scott brothers narrowed their gazes identically. "Two shots have been fired so far. There are hostages and the whole school's on lockdown."

While the rest of the team talked noisily amongst themselves, Whitey swallowed hard and spoke to Lucas and Nathan alone. Only they needed to know what he was about to say next.

"Boys," he took a deep breath, making absolutely certain he had their full attentions. "The police received a 911 call from the tutor center, where the hostage situation-"

He didn't even need to finish the rest, both sets of eyes dawned clarity at the same moment.

"Six hostages in the tutor center." Whitey repeated what he'd been told not five minutes ago. "And Haley's one of them."

o0oo0o

"So…" Rachel Gatina was the first to speak after Jimmy Edwards shot his gun towards Marcus and instead hit the wall. Everyone, including the gun handling student himself, had frozen. The shot hadn't missed because Jimmy had wanted it to; it had missed because Marcus had ducked and Jimmy's hand had been shaking. "What do you guys wanna do tomorrow?"

Everyone looked at her with expressions varying from disgust to amusement. Silence fell again after that.

Abby Brown sat huddled in the corner, crying silently, Marcus stared sideways at the bullet hole in the wall that had been so very close to his head. Skillz and Mouth sat at the same table, close but not touching, their heads down, Rachel sat one table over, close, as well, to the others. She sat straight, in a way that had to have taught to her from birth, but she was fiddling with her hands in what looked like an old nervous habit. Haley had her feet up on the chair with her arms wrapped around her knees.

Jimmy Edwards sat again on the teacher's desk, smoking a cigarette.

Haley thought dully that maybe this would all be over when he ran out of cigarettes. How many came in a pack, again? She didn't smoke, but she and Lucas had stolen a pack once - their freshman year of high school - and smoked it on the roof of Karen's Café, just because they could. She'd gotten sick that night from it and had been an avid nonsmoker ever since.

But how many cigarettes came in a pack. Twenty? Fifteen? Or was it some off number like eighteen or twenty one? Did it vary brand to brand? Did Jimmy have another pack in his pocket? His jeans were so baggy she couldn't tell. And what about that thing he was using as an ashtray? Would he dumb that on the ground when it got full? In the trash? Would he find something else? What if his lighter ran out of fluid?

Did Marcus smoke? She knew Mouth, Skillz and Abby didn't, and she was pretty sure Rachel didn't either. But if Marcus did, Jimmy might demand more cigarettes from him. But what if Marcus smoked a brand Jimmy didn't like? What if he didn't have a lighter? Would he try to shoot him again for that?

"I need to get out of here." She mumbled, mostly to herself, but since it was so silent in that room everyone heard.

"Preaching to the choir, sister." Rachel spoke dully and Haley realized that she hated the girl so much less today than she did yesterday. Though, she figured, tragedy and being held hostage together would do that to you.

"You okay, Hales?" Skillz asked quietly and she remembered a time when they'd all been friends. Her, Lucas, Skillz, Mouth and Jimmy. Down by the river court when things had been so simple. So easy and fun. She felt like crying.

"I'm glad Nathan and Lucas are safe," she whispered back to him and both he and Mouth nodded a bit in agreement.

"Yeah, its just too bad we're not." Rachel threw in and Haley wanted to hate her so much, but she was right and that couldn't be argued.

"So, Jim," Marcus sounded harsh when he finally spoke again, the shock seemingly having worn off. All eyes went to him. His gaze was drifting between the weapon in Jimmy's hand and the bullet hole in the wall. "Where'd you get the gun?"

o0oo0o

"It's not glass is it?" Peyton gasped, clinging to her best friend's hand tightly, "In my leg?"

Brooke bit her lip as silent tears rolled down her face, "No, P. Sawyer," she sniffled and tried to sound strong. "It's a bullet." The words sounded so harsh and foreign on her tongue, coming out of her mouth. It's like they were in a movie or something, acting out a part for a goof drama club performance. But the blood on their clothes was so real, so sticky and hot, it smelled bitter, almost metallic. Brooke had never really had a problem with blood. Not until now at least.

"Isn't someone supposed to come save us right about now?" Peyton asked, a smile ghosting across her face. Brooke knew that Peyton really didn't believe in being saved. "Isn't Lucas supposed to come save us?"

Brooke bit back a sob. "Not today, Peyton. Ho's before Bros, remember?"

"More like, Ho's before," she gasped a little bit, smiling tightly to bite back a grimace of pain, "Psychos."

"Yeah," Brooke let tears fall as she rested her head on the top of Peyton's, praying to a God that she's never believed in for their safe escape out of this hell. "Ho's before psychos."

o0oo0o

"We can't just stand here and do _nothing_!" Nathan Scott was yelling as loud as he could at his brother, Whitey and anyone else who would listen. "That's my _wife_ in there. Do you understand that? Haley's inside that school and I have to go get her!"

Nathan got as far as the recreation room's front door before he was stopped by the cops that had been sent here to keep the students from doing exactly what Nathan was trying to do.

"No!" He pushed one of the uniformed men harshly. "No! I _have _to get her! I have-"

Lucas came up and grabbed Nathan's shoulder harshly and Nathan, acting on pure instinct and rage, spun around and took a wide swing at the older boy. Lucas ducked because, yeah, he'd been expecting that. He caught Nathan's other arm when he tried again and led him roughly to the other side of the room by the bleachers, mumbling absently to the cops that it wouldn't happen again.

"What the hell are you doing, man?!" Nathan pulled away as soon as Lucas loosened his grip on his arm. They were away from prying eyes now, hidden mostly behind the bleachers that had been pulled down.

"You're about two seconds away from getting arrested, Nate." Lucas shoved his brother up against a wall harshly, angrier than could be. "And the more cops that have to deal with your sorry ass, the less cops there are at the school."

Something like realization flashed through Nathan's eyes, but his teeth were still clenched tightly. "I have to get to Haley." He was all but pleading with the blonde man, "It's _Haley_, Lucas. It's Haley."

"There's no way in hell we're getting back in that school, Nathan." Lucas spoke rationally, hating all the while that he had to be the rational one.

"You don't understand, man-" tears were pooling in Nathan's eyes, but Lucas couldn't help but see red.

"I don't understand?" He bit harshly. "Peyton and Brooke are in that school, too Nathan. _Peyton _and _Brooke_."

Something in Nathan's face changed as he realized that and he looked up at Lucas sadly. "I…"

"I hate this, too, little brother," the hand he rested on his shoulder this time was comforting, not controlling. "But we weren't there and now there's nothing we can do except wait. Do you understand that?"

Nathan just shut his eyes tight and tried hard to ignore the tears leaking through. If he'd been standing with anyone other than Lucas at that moment, he would have thrown another punch by now - and not missed. But his big brother was something of a calming presence; offering inarguable logic and as much comfort as he could.

Lucas really was his big brother, Nathan realized in that moment. They were family. He was sliding down the wall behind him, drawing his knees up to his stomach the next moment, suddenly too tired and too defeated to stay standing.

Lucas went down with him, wrapping one arm around his shoulder so Nathan could lean into him as he cried.

The rest of the world didn't matter in that moment. The only thing that mattered was his big brother's comforting presence and praying again and again to a God he'd never put much faith in that Haley would be okay.

Lucas had never lied to him, Nathan realized somewhat anticlimactically. When Lucas said he was going to beat him, he beat him. When Lucas told him something was going to be his, that something became his. When Lucas said something was going to happen, it happened.

Lucas Scott was the polar opposite of their father and, in that moment, crying and praying and grieving and hoping, Nathan wished more than anything else that Lucas would tell him everything would be okay.

But those words never came.

Fin.


End file.
